“Fine… go see the world!” an annoyed sounding lady gave her blessings to someone.

“Really?! Thanks mother! Thank you!!” a young sounding man in his 20s, roared in excitement.

“But please… be careful Fuego… the world is full of danger and… I’ve seen firsthand at what it can offer!” the lady continued with a hesitant and concern tone, warning her son.

“It’s fine Mother! I still remember the stories you told about your and great-grandmother’s journey to get here, it’s okay I can take it all! the world has not seen what this brave lobo can do!!” He said, full of bravery and courage from every words he spouted.

Fuego, the young brave fool he was, bid farewell to his mother and went out off from the forest. the lights then shut down where it feels like I was watching a theatre and it was about to change to another scene, it did of course as the lights slowly and surely lighten back up, but I wasn’t expecting this…

“AGHHHHHHH!!!” the scene opened with Fuego strapped in some kind of board, screaming and wailing in agony. “No… please… stop… I can’t take it anymore… I can’t… AGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”

Slit

A knife, cutting through Fuego’s flesh and bone where his body then was being turned inside out. The person who did this was tall, but he was shrouded with shadows, only his deluded smile and eyes that I could see clearly, it’s as if he was happy with this… sick twisted action he just did.

“AGHHHH!!!” Fuego continued screaming in agony where then Nieve entered.

“No…. no…. NO!!!” Nieve seeing full view of her boy’s torture, cried and screamed at the horror that befalls before her eyes. “I… why… why did…”

“Mother… please… help me… AGHHHHHHH!!” the shadow man slit another part of Fuego’s body, cutting off Fuego’s desperate plea.

Nieve then ran towards her boy, but every time she was close to him, Fuego and the shadow man kept getting further and further. She kept running and running towards them, while seeing her flesh and blood being experimented upon, but in the end Nieve crashed down, exhausted and can only see her son kept screaming in pain.

After that the shadow man left the scene by fizzling out of thin air and unveiling his creation, Fuego horribly disfigured and attached with foreign limbs on his body, rose from the board that he was strapped from.

“I… I shouldn’t have let you go…. I… I am sorry…” Nieve seeing what her son has become, could only blame herself and regretting on what she permits to her own son.

Fuego then turned his back from Nieve, walking off to the darkness where he slowly fades from both my eyes and Nieve’s eyes.

“Wait… NO, PLEASE DON’T GO, PLEASE!!!!” Nieve, still exhausted, carried herself back and ran after Fuego, though it was futile as he was already gone to the darkness. “Please… don’t leave me…”

The lights then shutdown again and the only thing that it left me with was, tears…

After that my eyes opens and saw the first thing I felt of course was Roison's warm body, she was grappling on to my left arm like the baby she is, which let out a smile to my face when seeing her more thoroughly, my ears as well was awaken with people rumbling around from the outside of the tent, with knights rustling their plate armor from every step they make.

While inside of the tent I saw Amadela talking with Eleanna and Jumque in his snake form, wrapping around Eleanna’s arm, as I was getting myself up slowly and gently while exchanging my arm with my pillow for Roison. I didn’t know what it was but from their expression, especially Amadela’s, I suspect something serious just happen.

Amadela then left our tent where Eleanna, seeing that I was awake and could tell that I was quite curious at their conversation, explained right away that something urgent has come up as I predicted.

She said that Elin was kidnapped by a mage and now Martyn, Arthur, Kristof, Pere, Sir Fionn, Amadela, Sapphire, Chloé, Ceniza, Pawl and even Nieve were preparing themselves as well as being escorted by 50 of Kristof’s knights on this rescue.

I then asked her on who’s going to watch over Pawl’s kids and the other Ladies here, she answered or more specifically, she suggested that I should stay here and watch the others, I was okay with the idea, but I wanted to know more of the situation, so I went with Eleanna to meet the others.

As we were on our way to the center of this camp, we were blocked by a traffic of knights, wriggling our way through them, we then realized what the red light was, it was that chimera thing from my dream that walked away from Nieve, it was… Fuego… or Pawl actually.... though I wasn’t that bedazzled by this sight, Eleanna on the other hand was stunted at the sight, I couldn’t really decode anything from her facial expression, it was too mixed to tell.

“Miss Marie?! Eleanna?! What are you both doing here?” Martyn noticed us both who just got out of the pile of knights behind us.

“It’s okay Lord Protector, I informed Lady Eleanna of this but… I do not know why Lady Marie is here with her…” Amadela said in confusion of my appearance.

“Is this… Fuego?” I was to occupied with Pawl’s chimera form to explained why I am here, so I asked this instead.

“Fuego?” Martyn said in confusion.

“Fuego!” Nieve went to shock after hearing that name.

“Sorry… I mean Pawl!” I corrected myself, considering that they probably don’t know who Fuego is.

“What?!” one of the knights in my back said in disbelief.

“How do you know this is Pawl, Miss Marie? And… why did you called him Fuego?!” Martyn as well in disbelief, asked me.

“I… it’s kind of hard to explai-” I then was cut off by Nieve who is in her human form beside Martyn.

“Me and him appeared in your dream, didn’t we?” Nieve a bit tense, asked me.

“Yeah… kind of…” I answered a bit awkwardly.

“Ohhh… then yes! This is Pawl.” Hearing the answer, her tense tone and mannerism disappeared and she even gave a smile.

“Okay that’s nice and all you’re dreaming of Nieve and Pawl in your sleep Miss Marie, but why are you here? Shouldn’t you still be asleep? And why did you call him Fuego?” Martyn asked with a concern tone, which I knew what Martyn was doing here and I won’t blame him, this was kind of urgent and me being here or even joining with him on this rescue would put a lot more things for him to be concern.

Nieve then explained first to why I called him Fuego, which was super straight forward, Pawl’s real name is Fuego, he was kinda miffed on this matter but knowing the current situation, Martyn set that aside.

I then explained to him on why I am here, which he then gave Eleanna sting eyes for brief second, he then sighed for a bit and explained everything to me, about Pawl’s condition to how the mage that kidnap Elin was her father… it… was quite a revelation, but it wasn’t something for me to comment about.

So as I was scooting over to them and listening on their plans on where exactly is this mage, Aedhyn le Sireadh, Chloé from nowhere like usual, appeared with Ceniza on her shoulders, pointing at the map on the table of the exact location of where Aedhyn took Elin to, it wasn’t far from here, about 4 or 5 km from here, he and Elin were holing up in an abandoned castle.

“For a thousand-year-old Fada mage, he is sure full of himself if he thinks he can pass through my eyes!” Chloé said with an annoyed tone.

“Well? What are we waiting for?!” Kristof the took a deep breath and shouted. “SADDLE UP MEN, WE’RE HUNTING A ROGUE MAGE!!”

After that vigorous and majestic shout from Kristof, the knights in my vicinity went off to their horses, Kristof, followed up by Pere, Arthur, and Sir Fionn joined his subordinate on this rescue.

While Chloé turned into a raven like Ceniza and guided Pawl who let Eleanna, Jumque, Amadela, and Sapphire ride on his back, acting as their steed, leaving me with Martyn who just sheathed his sword and Nieve who just change herself into her Lobo form.

As Martyn and Nieve was about to leave the premise he then turned back and asked me.

“You’re not coming?” Martyn asked me out of nowhere.

“Wait… you want me to come?” I said in confusion.

“No, but I know you want to come… so, you’re coming or not?” He then asked again as I know what the answer he wants from me.

“Hmm… I’ll stay, I still need to keep an eye on Roison!” I answered.

“Hmphhf…” he sighed with a smile in his face. “Your lost then!” he walked away while oozing joy from his mannerism.

“It’s okay, I’ll watch over him!” Nieve promised me.

***

As the horse were cantering in the dense forest illuminated by the moonlight right on top of us, I, on all fours, a majestic white snow Lobo, followed the man who led this human pack, the man called Martyn Wulf, titling himself as the Lord Protector.

We were on our way saving my daughter in law, from her father in a old, abandoned castle, he is at least a millennia old elven Mage who has tortured my dearest boy for decades… I still to this day can’t forgive myself for what he had to endure, what he had… to become.

A rustle could be heard in front of us which revealed to be Lady Chloé, the Lord Protector stopped the canter where everyone beside and behind him followed suite, Lady Chloé didn’t waste time after that and quickly explained herself on her sudden arrival.

She informed us that the situation might change, the previous mercs that ambushed us back in the evening was sighted near the castle by her and Ceniza, she at first suspect that they were on their way to the main road, but she then realized by the band’s direction that they were heading towards the abandoned castle where Elin and Aedhyn were holed up.

Lady Chloé was a bit optimistic that this coincidental direction was probably a coincidence, but the Lord Protector thought of something else with this situation that… coincidentally was in sync on what I thought as well, we knew how Elin was discovered and his band’s direction to the old, abandoned castle was most likely him following through a newly made contract he made with Aedhyn.

“Damn…” The Prince said in disbelief.

“It’s never that easy huh…” Sir Arthur said the obvious.

“Your… going to be okay right?” the Lord Protector concernedly asked him due to him freezing last time in the midst of battle.

“Yeah… yeah! C’mon let’s get there before they fortified that castle!” Sir Arthur regained back his will.

Lady Chloé then waste no time on getting back to her scouting position and transform to a crow, flew to the sky where we then rushed as fast as we could to that castle, horses galloping and avoiding the trees while I followed suite by increasing my speed.

As we were in sight of the abandoned castle as well as the mercs that just arrived and were about to fortified the castle, we charged ahead at them where the Prince pulled out his horn and signal our arrival, it startled the mercs where they dropped everything and went straight to their weapons, but it was all for naught because our charge was already close and the only thing that they can do, is to pray for themselves that they won’t be left as a mangled bruised up corpse by this charge.

With that precise charge the horsemen that the Prince lead and me jumping and mauling a couple of those mercs in front of me, lead to them in a disarray, scattering from sword range, either to the woods or to that decrepit castle.

While the knights were preoccupying the mercs by their blades and/or pursuing the fleeing ones, me, the Prince, and the Lord Protector went inside the castle where we were then joined by the late ones that just arrived, Pawl, the Princess, Lady Sapphire, Jumque, and Lady Eleanna.

We then carved our way in by mine and Pawl’s jaws as well as the Lord Protector’s and the Prince’s sword to get into the castle, arriving at the entrance the Lord Protector and the Prince dismounted themselves from their horses as well as the other four dismounted themselves too from Pawl and continued on foot inside the castle.

Pawl went in first because his senses were more amped than mines, where he guided us to where Elin is being kept which… was at the court room of the castle. As we went inside of the court room, we were greeted by a surprised Alain with his 10 well-armed, well-armored guards, a livid Aedhyn, and a rejoiceful Elin.

“Why are you standing there like an idiot captain? Attack them!” Aedhyn holding Elin quite roughly, shouted his orders to Alain.

Alain with his 10 guardsmen was about to attacked us but… they were scared to enfer as he saw a Lobo about to chop their heads off and a chimera beast that’s going to eat them like a snack.

“Throw your swords away and get the fuck out of here if you want to live!” the Lord Protector gave a chance for their survival, where they quickly obliged by doing what he ordered them to do.

“Damn it…” Aedhyn cursed at this misfortunate turn of events.

“Mercenaries am I right?” the Lord Protector out of nowhere made a joke in this somewhat heated and tense room. “Anyway, release Lady Elin, Aedhyn! You got nowhere to go!!”

“Not a chance!” Aedhyn then casted wind magic on Elin to restraint her, he then went towards us ready for a second round.

With no time to waste, Me and Pawl went head on first, acting as the vanguard with our jaws readied and locked at his throat, I couldn’t see it at first because of how I was fixed on attacking Aedhyn, but after we predictably got shoved away with his wind magic, I noticed how the Prince and the Lord Protector didn’t charge straight away like me and Pawl.

They instead tried to attack his flank, sword readied in arm and was about to swung it on him, but there was another peculiar thing happening from our previous position, Lady Eleanna, Lady Sapphire, as well as Jumque was casting a huge fireball.

With that his flank was about to be attacked by the Prince and the Lord Protector and him about to take a huge fireball casted by Lady Eleanna, Lady Sapphire, and Jumque to the face, but he is a Mage for a reason.

Nearing an imminent strike from the Prince and the Lord Protector rather than that huge fireball, he casted another wind magic again, but… this time was different, he used the wind as a protective layer where with that he blocked and parry the strikes from the Lord Protector and the Prince, though it’s a surprise for them, they didn’t stop and continued striking Aedhyn, but still to no avail as he kept blocking and parrying their attack, quite well if I should say.

While Aedhyn was being preoccupied by the Prince and the Lord Protector by their swords, Lady Eleanna, Lady Sapphire, and Jumque finally finished their huge fireball and was about to propelled it towards Aedhyn, he took notice of this and while I was about to charge again at him, he deliberately used the soon to be unwieldy fireball as an attack towards the Lord Protector and the Prince, as it was propelled off by them three, Aedhyn then grabbed the Lord Protector and the Prince by their hands and threw them at the already unwieldy fireball, and as they were about to be burn to smithereens in front of our eyes, she appears.

Teleported from the ceilings of the court room, dropping down from it and dispelling the fireball just by flicking at it.

“Who… wait, the Crow of Diamant… last time I saw you, you were still wearing something bright back in the Académie.” Aedhyn said as he was quite a bit surprised from Lady Chloé’s entrance.

“Never really like it, I’ve always liked wearing something dark blue-ish clothes” Lady Chloé replied where she then promptly conjured feathers between her fingers.

She then flung all of those feathers, which was hard as steel and sharp as knives when it was flying through the air.

As it was flying across the air towards Aedhyn, Lady Chloé flung herself as well and conjured up another of those feather like knives where she threw them again in great speed at Aedhyn, Aedhyn blocked and blocked all of those feather like knives but it still kept coming where eventually Lady Chloé herself, nearing him with now a much bigger feather like knife gripping in her hands was about to swing it towards Aedhyn’s face.

Aedhyn narrowly dodge that quick knife attack by Lady Chloé to the face, she still kept going with that deadly swing which gave me an opening as I saw him being distracted by Lady Chloé.

I then rushed quickly towards him with my jaws ready and already locked towards his arm, he didn’t noticed me and I took the chance to bite his left arm and locked my jaws tight, I then summon all of my strength to then ripped apart his left arm from his body.

With his left arm now in my mouth, blood then came pouring out from the teared part of his body, he weirdly didn’t notice it at first, due to him still being occupied from the multiple knife attack by Lady Chloé, which didn’t last long when he failed to dodge one of them and finally got stabbed by the feather like knife by Lady Chloé.

After that he then promptly realized his situation now, a feather like knife stuck in his upper right side of his chest and a whole left arm not being attached to his body, blood is pouring out from his body and an enormous amount of pain was probably running amok in him. Good…

“I see… huh, didn’t…. expect…. it…... to…… be……. like……. this……….” He said stutteringly as he falls down towards the dusty floor of this castle’s court room.

His eyes were still open, his breath was still hearable, he was still alive even though a pool of blood already engulfed him, but… somehow, he still have some energy to use his magic to bring Elin near him and releasing her.

“I…. am…. dying….” He said with a cold tone to Elin.

“Yes, Father…” Elin replied.

“Hmm… beast…. Come here…” He turned his head towards Pawl, where Pawl then walked towards him, looking at him not with anger, not with disgust, just… pure curiosity of what he was about to say to him. “Do… you… really… love… my… daughter…?” He asked, Pawl nodded. “Ahhh… I… See…” Aedhyn then grabbed Pawl’s humanoid arms where after that something miraculous happen.

Pawl slowly and surely reverted back towards himself, not the Lobo self I know, but towards his human form and of course he was naked which Lady Chloé promptly created a thick blanket out of thin air and use it to cover Pawl.

“If you think… I am regretful… for what I’ve done… to you then you are mistakenly… wrong…” he then took a breather. “I… am a Mage…! and… I’ll admit… what I’ve created… in you… is something I… am proud of but… I need you… in this form… to protect… her… can…… you…. do…… it……?” Pawl nodded. “Good… good…” he then looked at Elin ”Goodbye… daughter…” he said his last words, still callous, still cold, but… somehow there was hint of warmness.

Right here and then, Aedhyn le Sireadh has let out his last breath, that Fada has finally gotten what he deserved, but… even if he broke that cursed on my son, I still can’t forgive myself, this was my doing, I am to be blamed for everything that he had to endure, every ‘operations’ he had to go, every torture he had to take, it was all my fault.

No it isn’t!

What? Who is in my head!?

Sorry… it’s me Marie! I’ve actually been watching things unravel from the start through your eyes!

Wait… How did you exactly do it?

Magic… I suppose, but if I have to be specific it’s probably because I thought that I could see things from your eyes and one thinking let to another and now I can talk to you telepathically.

Huh…

But let’s get back to what I said before, IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT!

NO… it’s my fault, if I just disallowed him or if I were with him in his journey… I… I…

Okay, what happens in the past stays in the past, you can’t change it and moping around about it won’t change a thing and yes, you will until the end of your life feel guilt for what you have done to him, but like what I said earlier, you can’t change the past! The only thing you can change is the future! Just… look in front of you, his curse is broken, his life is now change! What he needs is not a mother who still wallows on her guilt and past mistakes, what he needs now and forever is a mother who has moved on from that tragic past!

But…. how could I even call myself a mother, all that pain just because I was annoyed at his request and whimsically allowed it! Tell me Marie, how!? How do I continue living, knowing I have done this to him!!

Firstly, it’s not your fault, none of this is your fault, life is random, it can be cruel and it can be nice, You should now this firsthand, but if you still insistent on seeing this as your fault, then… forgive yourself, don’t seek his forgiveness, I swear this upon my future child that he doesn’t see this as your fault, the only one who is seeing this as your fault is only you, and the only thing that you can do is forgive yourself, it’s… hard for sure, I know this too well myself, but you can’t wallow yourself in the past for too long because, like I said previously, he will need you, not the guilt ridden past you, but the new you who has forgiven herself and looking bright at the future.

I… I… just…

What Marie said was true, I need to move on, I need to clear this blurry glass, But… I… I… can’t, I just can’t…

“Mother...” Pawl called me suddenly while being accompanied by Elin. “You know, since my return I always saw you wore that unsettled face and I know why you wore it, I... should have said this since my return!” Pawl with a determined eyes and a valorous tone about to said it to me, it... was something that… I don't truly deserve.

"It's not your fault, mother!" But... when he said it... when those four words came out of his mouth, I... I... couldn't help but let loose of my tears and be thankful for those words he let out to me.

***

As I sheathed back my sword, the beast, the beauty, and the mother, were hugging with each other, crying like a baby, saying sorry to one another, and just… hugging so warmly with one another, it really aches my heart in the right way of how sweet the sight it is to see a family moving forward and just facing the future brave heartedly.

I don’t know why… but I have a feeling this is your doing miss Marie, you really are a wonderfully noisy woman… haha…